Professional Development and Organizational Culture

This ECAR case study complements the 2008 ECAR study by Philip J. Goldstein, Leading the IT Workforce in Higher Education. Views of the Top: Rising IT Leaders Discuss the CIO Position in Higher Education looks at the role of higher education’s CIOs from the perspective of 13 rising IT leaders. As part of its broad research of IT leadership in higher education, the EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research organized two focus groups of mid-career IT executives to discuss the role of the CIO in higher education, to gain insights into the factors that drive individuals to aspire to the CIO role, and to evaluate how well higher education prepares its future leaders. This case study reports the results of those important discussions.

Citation for this work: Goldstein, Philip J., and Judith A. Pirani. “Views of the Top: Rising IT Leaders Discuss the CIO Position in Higher Education” (Case Study 5). Boulder, CO: EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research, 2008, available from http://www.educause.edu/ecar.

This ECAR case study complements the 2008 ECAR study by Philip J. Goldstein, Leading the IT Workforce in Higher Education. Developing the IT Workforce at the University of South Australia describes both the commitment of the University of South Australia (UniSA) to its workforce and the information technology organization’s successful effort to create and foster a high-performing IT team. Since its formation in 1991, UniSA faced exceptionally stiff challenges in transforming itself from a technical institute and college of advanced education into a comprehensive research-oriented university. This evolution brought with it workforce misalignments in both the academic and professional staff. With its longstanding and explicit commitment to equity and a great deal of foresight, UniSA’s leaders have established the institution’s reputation as an employer committed to the well-being of academic and professional staff even in the face of major competition in the turbulent financial environment and the local employment market.

Skidmore's CTO wanted to create a professional development experience for the IT organization that focused on "organizational effectiveness." In response, we created a simulation of an external IT review and asked IT staff to take a hard look at the issues facing the IT organization at the fictitious Highhopes College.

Simulating an external department review at the imaginary Highhopes College gave IT staff at Skidmore College a very real opportunity for professional development.